September, 2014
The American Society of Transplantation is pleased to annouce the transfer of the AST's Renal Transplant Fellowship Training Accreditation Program to the newly created AST Transplant Nephrology Fellowship Training Accreditation Program, LLC, a limited liability company wholly owned by the AST. The Accreditation Program's mission under the LLC remains the same - to accredit institutions that provide specialty transplant nephrology training.
Oversight and governance of the LLC will be conducted by the LLC Board of Managers who are responsible for the final approval of programs. One member of...
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The American Society of Transplantation (AST) Request for Applications will close in just one week on Monday, September 15, 2014 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time. Please visit
http://www.myast.org/grants for eligibility criteria and to start your application.
Researchers may submit applications for basic, clinical, and translational science fellowship and junior faculty grants. This year, the AST identified 15 research priorities, and encourages researchers working within those areas to submit applications for funding. However, we will still accept applications on any research...
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August, 2014
AST/Astellas Clinical Science Faculty Development Grant
Dr. Jayme Locke
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Dr. Locke is doing research on the long term outcomes after live kidney donation among expanded criteria living donors.
AST/Astellas Basic Science Fellowship Grant
Pritha Sen, MD
Massachusetts General Hospital
Sponsor: Jay Fishman, MD
Dr. Sen’s research will focus on CMV induced transcriptional networks and regulation of innate immunity in solid organ transplantation.
AST/BMS Clinical Science Fellowship Grant
Aravind Cherukuri, MD
University of Pittsburgh
Sponsor: David Rothstein, MD...
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Congratulations to the 2014 Pay It Forward Member-Get-A-Member Campaign Winners!
The following three people encouraged their colleagues to join the AST and because of them, the AST community continues to grow.
Marian O’Rourke, RN, CCTC - Grand Prize: Apple iPad and complimentary membership dues for 2015
Peter Nguyen, MD - 2nd Prize: $500 AST Bucks
John Baddley, MD, MSPH - 3rd Prize: $250 AST Bucks
Do you have a colleague that would enjoy all of the wonderful benefits of AST membership? Spread the word and encourage them to join! Visit
http://www.myast.... Read More...
Lifetime Achievement Award
J. Harold Helderman, MD
The AST Lifetime Achievement Award is AST’s most prestigious award and honors a senior investigator whose lifelong work has advanced the field of transplantation. Throughout his illustrious career, Dr. Helderman has held many distinguished positions for the institutions he has served. He is a consummate clinician with the attributes of an inquisitive and curious scientist, interested in providing superb care to his patients, but also relentless in his desire to further the field of transplantation science and medicine.
Dr. Helderman has...
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The Donation and Transplantation Community of Practice (DTCP) Strategic Planning Committee, comprised of the community partner organizations listed below, and government participation from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), has been meeting since September 2012 to develop a strategic plan for improving donation and transplantation practices across the nation. Most recently, this group of committed individuals and organizations identified and approved the following collective goal:
To increase the number of...
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The AST is pleased to announce the results of the 2014 board elections:
President-Elect: James Allan, MD, MBA
Treasurer: Thomas Pearson, MD, DPhil
Councilors-at-Large:
Sharon Bartosh, MD
Richard Formica, MD
Josh Levitsky, MD
The results of the board elections were announced during the Town Hall meeting at the WTC in San Francisco, on July 29. Along with the elections, it was also announced that the three revisions to the AST Bylaws were passed. The Bylaw changes were:
To change eligibility criteria for Emeritus membership so that individuals must be 65 years of age and have retired from...
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July, 2014
AST Applauds Congressmen Nadler (D-NY) and Burgess (R-TX) for Introducing the Living Organ Donor Protection Act
Legislation seeks to promote and protect living organ donors from discrimination.
WASHINGTON, DC - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - The American Society of Transplantation (AST), representing the majority of professionals engaged in the field of organ transplantation, applauds the introduction of the "Living Donor Protection Act of 2014" by Congressmen Jerrold Nadler of New York and Michael Burgess, MD of Texas. The legislation seeks to:
Prohibit denial of coverage or increase in...
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The American Society of Transplantation (AST), representing the majority of professionals engaged in the field of organ transplantation, today announced the launch of the Transplantation and Immunology Research Network (TIRN), a professional network established to advance transplantation and immunology research. As modern organ transplantation continues to diversify, AST determined the field needed a network that could provide more opportunities for physicians, scientists and researchers to collaborate within their respective specialty areas and engage those interested in funding...
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Many changes are happening this year. The biggest change is the implementation of the new Kidney Allocation System. In an effort to keep the AST membership as informed as possible, a section of the website will be dedicated to UNOS updates.
We will post information that comes directly from UNOS as well as AST official responses to proposals out for public comment. Look for this new section to the website in August.
All comments are read by UNOS, and committees respond to ALL input, so hearing from our membership is critical. We ask for careful review by appropriate AST committees and...
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